Patterning mechanism for knitting machines



Jan. 26, 1965 1.. MISHCON PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 26, 1962 INVENTOR. Lester Mishcon flu? U h/f1 WITNESS ATTORNEY Jan. 26, 1965 L. MISHCON PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed July 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Lester Mishcon BY xiwifiilmz ATTORNEY flexible belt.

United States Patent Office 3,166,920 PATTERNING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES Lester Mishcon, Miami Beach, Fla., assignor, by mesne assignments, to The Singer Company, New York, N.Y.,

a corporation of New Jersey Filed July 26, 1962, Ser. No. 212,504 12 Claims. (Cl. 6-6-50) This invention relates to knitting machines having independently movable knitting elements, and more particularly, to a novel and improved patterning mechanism for controlling the movement of each individual knitting element in a predetermined fashion thus to form in a knit fabric patterns of texture, color or the like.

In the accompanying drawings an embodiment of this invention is illustrated in which the patterning mechanism serves to control the needle reciprocation of a sinker top latch needle circular knitting machine. This invention, however, also has utility in other types of knitting machines and may be used to control the movement of knitting elements other than needles, as for instance, sinkers, yarn feeding devices, and the like.

In this invention, pattern influencing jacks are articulated in an endless chain being either linked in seriatim or individually secured in like attitude along an endless The endless chain of jacks is constrained such that while lengthwise movement is imparted thereto directly by the knitting elements, each individual jack thereon engages and influences the relative position of a respective one of the independently movable knitting elements.

This novel construction and arrangement attains the objective of providing a knitting machine patterning mechanism which can accommodate practically unlimited pattern information while maintaining that simplicity and directness of operation which makes possible the operation of a knitting machine at the highest permissable speeds.

This invention thus distinguishes from and provides distinct advantages over those known patterning mechanisms which operate on the jacquard principle in which the control cards or chain act indirectly and through intermediate sensing and switching devices to influence the knitting element position. The complexity of separate drives for the control cards and intermediate devices, and the problems of synchronization thereof with the operation of the knitting elements which arise with jacquard mechanisms and limit their speed of operation and productivity are obviated with the mechanism of the present invention in which the coaction between the knitting elements and the pattern jacks is direct, not only as to the influence of the knitting element position by the jacks but also as to the indexing of the jacks by the knitting elements.

With prior known patterning devices for knitting machines of the type which operate directly upon the knitting elements, such as pattern wheels, the information carrying ability of the patterning device is limited by the space available at and adjacent to the knitting area of the machine. If the wheels are enlarged, fewer can be accommodated on the machine. Thus with known devices of this type, pattern expansion could be attained only at the expense of productivity. With the present invention, the pattern jack constraining means adjacent to the knitting area remains unchanged irrespective of the length of the endless chain or belt of patterning jacks and thus an increase in pattern information can be had without any decrease of productivity.

It is another object of this invention to provide an endless chain or belt of' patterning jacks for engaging directly with the needle butts of a circular latch needle knitting 3,166,920 Patented Jan. 26, 1965 machine and influencing the operative position of each needle into a selected one of three positions to either knit, tuck, or welt.

This invention also comprehends the provision of a patterning member for a knitting machine in the form of an endless flexible belt to which individual rigid jack elements are stapled, crimped or otherwise secured in regular succession, with the object of providing an inexpensive permanent patterning member which may be exchanged on the knitting machine quickly and stored conveniently should any additional fabric of that pattern be required at a later date.

With the above and additional objects and advantages in view as will hereinafter appear, this invention comprises the devices combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter descn'bed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment in which:

FIG. 1 represents a vertical cross sectional view of a circular knitting machine taken substantially radially of the cylinder bed thereof showing substantially in side elevation a patterning mechanism carried thereon in accordance with this invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the endless arrangement of pattern jack elements as utilized in this invention,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of a section block carrying the patterning mechanism of this invention together with a fragment of the gear and retaining rings of the knitting machine as viewed from the position of the needle cylinder,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 3 and illustrating a pattern jack element and fragments of the pattern jack carrier wheel and the needle cylinder in cross section, together with and a needle butt disposed in cooperating relation thereto, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 2 but illustrating a modified form of pattern jack construction.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates the patterning mechanism of this invention as applied to an otherwise conventional circular latch needle sinker top knitting machine. Those portions of the knitting machine which will be necessary for an understanding of this invention include a stationary frame including a housing ring 11 whichis adapted to be supported from the floor by legs (not shown). Journaled in the housing ring is a gear ring 12 formed with depending gear teeth 13 meshing with a drive pinion 14 fast on a drive shaft 15 which is journaled relatively to the housing ring and may be driven, for instance, by an electric motor (not shown) to turn the gear ring. The gear ring 12 is constrained rotatably in the housing ring 11 by a retaining ring 16 secured on the housing ring.

l tached a, sinker cam 31 which is embraced-by a multi-' A cylinder 18, which is secured by bolts 19 so'as to move with the gear ring 12, is formed in the outer wall with evenly spaced parallel vertical slots 20, each slid ably accommodating a latch knitting needle indicated generally as 21. The knitting needles which are thus constrained in the slots 20 about the cylinder are alike, each formed with a hook 22, having a latch blade 23 pivoted beneath the hookyand formed with an offset butt 24 which projects radially out of. the slot 20 at" a predetermined distance beneath the needle hook.

"Disposed outwardly adjacent to the top ofthe cylinder 18 is a stationary carrier ring 26 on which yarn carrier brackets 27 are supported at intervals about the cylinder as by bolts 28. Each bracket 27 has secured thereto a yarn carrier 22 adapted to deliver a yarn to the hooks of those needles passing the yarn carrier which are raised sufllciently to accept the yarn. 'The carrier ring 26 also has secured thereto a sinker cam ring 30 to which is at sneaeao plicity of sinkers 32 slidably disposed one between each of the knitting needles in radial slots 33 in a sinker rest ring 34 which revolves with the cylinder 18. The sinkers may also be constrained slidably in' radial slots 35 formed in the top of the cylinder 18.

As eachindividual needle 21 approaches each yarn carrier 29 the needle is shifted endwise relatively to the cylinder bed to raise the book 22. After passing the yarn carrier, each individual needle is lowered to effect one of three yarn concatenations depending upon the height to which that needle has been elevated. The three possible needle positions are termed welt, tuck and knit positions; the welt position being that needle elevation in which thelatch blade does not clear the previous yarn loop on the needle and in which the hook remains beneath and does not receive the yarn issuing from the yarn carrier. A needle brought to the welt position will, therefore, merely retain and stretch out the previous yarn loop on the needle. The tuck position is that needle elevation in which the latch blade does not clear the previous yarn loop on the needle but in which the hook is raised sulficiently to engage the yarn issuing from the yarn carrier. A needle brought to the tuck position will retain the previousyarn loop on the needle and add to it an additional loop of yarn from the yarn carrier. The knit position is that needle elevation on which the latch blade is elevated completely above the previous yarn loop on the needle and in which the hook will engage the yarn issuing from the yarn carrier so that upon subsequent lowering of the needle only the yarn loop then engaged from the yarn carrier will remain on the needle, the previous loop or loops of yarn on the needle s'lippingover the needle hook onthe latch which will be swung by the previous loop to close the needle hook. 7

Each yarn carrier 2 and the means associated therewith for controlling the needle elevation as they pass the yarn carrier is referred to as a feed of which there may be as many disposed about the cylinder 18 as can be accommodated in the space available.

The'means for controlling the elevationof the individual knitting'needles at each feed are carried by the retaining ring 16 and by section blocks 4% secured to the retaining ring; Usually there is provided one section block 40 corresponding with each yarn carrier 2% about the cylinder bed. Secured by screws 42 to the retaining ring 16 is a needle raising cam 43 designed to engage the needle butts 24 as the needles approach the yarn carrier 29 and to shift the needles all into the welt position. Similarly secured to the section block by a screw 44, but disposed to engage the needle butts 24 after the needles have passed theyarn carrier 29, is a stitch cam 45 designed to urge all of the needles downwardly from either the knit, tuck or welt positions into a stitch setting position usually with the needle hooks 22 disposed completely beneath the level of-the top of the cylinder 18.

Operating on the needle butts as the butts pass between the raising cam 43 and the stitch cam 45 of each section block is the pattern controlling mechanism of this invention. The pattern controlling mechanism at each feed comprises a guide wheel journaled on a bushing 51 which accommodates a stud 52 of which the enlarged head 53 is adjustably received in a fork 54 secured by a screw 55 on the section block 40. A nut 56 threaded on the stud 52 serves to clamp the wheel in selected position along thefork. The fork 54 is inclined relatively to the top Surface of the housing ring 11 and retaining ring 16 so as to positionfthe stud52, and hence the axis of the guide Wheel'fih, at an inclination to the needles and preferably in a'plane which is parallel tothe plane of *ta'ngen cy between the cylinder bed 18 and the guide Wheel 50.

'The guide wheel 50 is formed about the periphery with teeth '57 having a pitch corresponding to the spacing betweenadjacent'slots'ztl in the cylinder 18. The guide 7 wheel teeth are inclined relatively to the axis of the guide whee1 at the 'same. anglethatthestud' 52bears to the housing ring 11 so that while moving adjacent to the cylinder bed 18, the teeth 57 will be positioned substan tially in parallelism with the needle slots 2! The teeth 57 are, moreover, straight so as not only to mesh with the needle butts 24 but also to provide freedom for endwise movement of the needles while in mesh with the teeth.

The teeth 57 of the guide wheel 5t) do not extend the full thickness of the Wheel either at the top nor the bottom. This construction may be accomplished by removing or shouldering the teeth at each side as at 53 as illustrated in FIG. 3 particularly if the Wheel is made as integral part, or by applying to the wheel at both the top and bottom, a plain disk 59 having an outside diameter corresponding to the base diameter of the teeth 57 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Entrained on the teeth of the guide wheel and constained thereby to move in a predetermined upwardly inclined path with respect to the cylinder 18 is an endless flexible belt on which may be synthetic plastic or of rubher and fabric composition or the like. The belt 60 is formed with apertures 61 extending laterally of the belt at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the axis of the guide wheel 50 relatively to housing ring 11 and which apertures are regularly spaced a distance corresponding to the pitch of the guide wheel teeth 57. The teeth 57 of the guide Wheel 54 therefore mesh directly with both the apertures 51 of the belt 66 and with the needle butts 24 and thus provide a guide means for the path of the belt and a means driven by direct engagement with the knitting elements for advancing the endless belt.

The apertured endless belt thus presents continuous edge portions 62 at each side of the apertures with inclined webs 63 spanning the edge portions between each of the apertures all. When entrained on the guide wheel 5th the edge portions 62 of the belt are accommodated in the shouldered portions 53 of the guide wheel and the path of the belt relatively to the cylinder 18 is thus positively constrained.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings, rigid, preferably stamped sheet metal jacks indicated generally at 76 are secured at intervals to the endless belts so as to be carried thereby into operative engagement with the individual needles in the cylinder. Each jack 70 includes a body portion 71 adapted to superpose one of the Webs es of the belt and a cross bar portion 72 extending from the body portion at each side a distance equal to half the Width to each belt aperture 61 and adapted to superpose one of the edge portions 62 of the belt. There may of course, be cross bar portions formed on each jack to superpose both edge portions 62 of the belt.

Each extremity 73 of the body portion 71 of the jack is adapted to be folded over the belt and crimped onto the belt to secure the jack in place. It will be understood,

however, that such crimping is but one of many ways in which the jacks may be secured to the belt and that other ways such as stapling or the use of adhesive might also be used.

The body portion '71 of the jacks may be formed with an offset defined by two legs; the first leg designated 74 extending perpendicular to the body portion defines a needle butt engaging cam surface, while the second leg 75 provides for an angular supporting strut for the cam surface.

it will be noted with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 that the cam surface 74 on certain of the jacks is arranged closely adjacent to the cross bar portion '72 thus providing a so called high jack in which the cam surface will engage and shift any needle with which it cooperates into the knit position which is the highest of the three possible needle positions. Pigh jacks in the drawings are identified by the designation H. On other jacks, the cam surface'74 is arranged nearer the extremity of the body portion remote from the cross bar portion 72, thus providing a so called low jack in which the cam surface will engage and shift any needle with which it cooperates into the tuck position. .Low jacks in the drawings are identified by the designation L.

For permitting needles to pass the control mechanism While remaining in the welt position it will be appreciated that a jack is not required, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 those belt webs 63 which have no jacks superposed thereon will permit the needles corresponding thereto to pass in the welt position. A similar result can be obtained by the provision of a jack such as indicated at W in FIG. 2 in which the body portion 71 is not formed with an offset cam portion. Such a jack may be used rather than an absence of any jack to define a welt position for the purpose of assisting in regular jack spacing about the belt or to deter slippage of the jacks along the belt.

The provision of plain jacks without endwise needle shifting cam surfaces would also find utility in the event that the endless chain of jacks were to be made not by securing jacks to a carrier belt as in the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 in the drawings but rather by articulating the individual jack members 70 in seriatim in like attitude as for instance by the use of connecting pivot pins 76 as illustrated in FIG. 5. It is also possible with such an alternative for the guide wheel teeth to be supplanted by a plain guide groove or for the guide wheel itself replaced by a stationary inclined track 77 for the chain of jacks in which event the jacks would each require a projection 78 adapted to extend between successive needle butts to serve the purpose performed by the guide wheel teeth in the preferred embodiment of the drawings.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the position of the guide wheel 50 is adjusted so that the teeth 57 mesh with the needle butts 24 as the needle butts are all raised to the Welt position by theraising cam, there being clearance between the teeth 57 and the outer surface of the cylinder 18. Similarly, the legs 74 defining cam surfaces on the jacks project only to the outer periphery of the teeth 57 as the jacks are carried about the guide wheel. The cam surfaces, where present, will, however, engage the needle butts and by virtue of the inclined path dictated by the guide wheel will, therefore, raise selected needles to the knit or tuck position or permit selected needles to pass to the stitch cam in the welt position.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, an idler wheel 80 may beused to control the slack and to prevent entanglement of the endless chain of jacks. The idler wheel 30 may be identical to the guide wheel 50 in construction and inclination as illustrated in the drawings although the diameter, configuration and position may differ. v

, The idler Wheel 80 is vjournaled on-a sleeve 81 and clamped .by a stud S2 threaded into a slide block 83 constrained in a guideway 84 in a supporting block 85 secured by screws 88, to the housing ring 11. The guideway 84 is inclined at the same angle as the fork 52 bears to the housing ring 11. The idler wheel 80 and slide block 83 are biased away from the guide wheel 50 by means of a spring 89 constrained between the head of an adjusting screw 90 threaded into the slide block and a washer 91 bearing against the supporting block 85.

As a safety device there is secured on each of the guide wheel studs 52 by a nut 100, a bracket 101 to which carries an impulse switch 102. For operating the switch 102, a bell crank lever 103 is pivoted on a pin 104' secured in the bracket and formed with a pair of arms 105 straddling the guide wheel teeth 57 and a switch operating arm 106. A spring 107 biases the bell crank lever 103 so as to urge the switch operating arm 106 toward the switch. The bell crank is arranged'such thatwhen the endless chain of. jacks is properly enmeshed with the teeth of the guide wheel, the continuousedge portions 62 of the belt 60, in passing between the guide wheel and the lever arms 105, hold the lever arm 106 out of operative engagement with the switch. Should any of the belts break or become disengaged from the guide wheel, the corresponding bell crank 103 will respond to the abnormality and operate the switch 102. The switches 102 are connected electrically preferably by way of a conventional relay, so as to stop the electric motor which drives the knitting machine.

To change the pattern produced on a knitting machine having this invention applied thereto only the endless belt or chain of jacks need be changed at each feed. The guide wheels for any particular knitting machine once made and installed need not be changed.

In view of the nominal expense involved in the materials and in the make-up of the pattern controlling belts of this invention, there is no compelling reason for dismantling the belts after each use as is the standard practice with known pattern wheels currently in use. The belts may be stored conveniently for subsequent use and may be exchanged on a machine quickly and easily. It is not uncommon that a particular pattern need be programmed on a knitting machine on many different occasions. If pattern wheels are used, their cost dictates they should be dismantled after each use and refilled in accordance with the pattern prior to each reuse. This invention is thus admirably suited to establish practices in the knitting trades and provides for considerable savings in time and expense.

The guide wheels of this invention can be designed as to size and tooth shape and set at the precise inclination to the cylinder bed which is most advantageous in view of the cut and diameter of the particular knitting machine. The same guide wheels then accommodate patterning belts of any length, that is, with any number of jacks thereon. Since with pattern wheels a change in the number of jacks used to influence the pattern necessitates a change to a pattern wheel of different diameter, the wheel inclination as determined by the fork in the section block cannot be proper for all wheel diameters and will be a compromise for all but one diameter.

A salient feature of this invention, however, is that it provides for a practically unlimited increase in the number of needles which may be controlled independently for each pattern repeat without any sacrifice in the speed or reliability of the operation of the knitting machine.

Having thus set forth the nature of this invention what I claim herein is:

1. In a knitting machine having a frame, a bed in which a multiplicity of knitting elements are independently constrained for relative movement, said frame and said bed being movable one relatively to the other, a patterning mechanism carried by said frame for influencing in seriatim the relative movement of said'knitting elements, said patterning mechanism comprising a plurality of jack elements articulated in an endless chain, means driven by direct engagement with said knitting elements upon movement of said frame relatively to said bed for advancing said jack elements in said endless chain each into registry with a respective knitting element in said bed, guide means on said frame for constraining that portion of said endless chain of jack elements in registry with said knitting elements to move inv a path inclined to the path in which said knitting elements are constrained to move, cam means formed on selected individual jack elements in said endless chain of jack elements, said cam means disposed for direct engagement with the respective knitting elements into registry with whichsaid selected jack elements are advanced, and each cam means being disposed in any selected one of a plurality of positions laterally of saidv path of motion of said chain of jack elements defined by said guide means. V

2. In a knitting machine having a relatively movable frame and slotted knitting element carrying bed, a plurality of knitting elements slidably constrained for lengthwise movement one in each of the slots in said bed, each knitting element being formed with a butt protruding from said bed slot, a control means forinfluencing the position I of said knitting elements lengthwise in said bed slots comprising, a plurality of individual jack members articulated in an endless chain, means on said frame for guiding each jack in said endless chain of jacks relatively to said bed in a path inclined in non-perpendicular relation to said bed slots, means associated with said endless chain of jacks and engageable with the protruding butts of said knitting elements for effecting longitudinal movement of said endless chain of jacks in response to and in timed relation with the relative motion of said frame and said bed, cam means formed on selected individual jacks in said endless chain of jacks, each of said cam means adapted to engage and shift the butt of one of said knitting elements lengthwise of said bed slot while said jack formed with said cam means is influenced by said guide means, and each of said cam means disposed in any selected one of a plurality of positions laterally of said path of said chain of jacks defined by said guide means.

3. In a knitting machine having a relatively movable frame and bed formed with a plurality of knitting element accommodating slots, a plurality of knitting elements slidably constrained for lengthwise movement one in each of the slots in said bed, each knitting element being formed with a butt protruding from said bed slot, a control means for influencing the position of said knitting elements lengthwise in said bed slots comprising a wheel journaled in said frame and formed with radial teeth inclined to the axis of said wheel and disposed in meshing relation between adjacent knitting element butts, a plurality of individual jack members articulated in an endless chain and formed between individual jack members with interstices adapted snugly to' accommodate the teeth of said wheel to constrain said endless belt for movement circumferentially with said wheel and to prevent movement of said individual jack members laterally of said Wheel teeth, and cam projections extending radially outward from selected individual jacks in said endless chain, and said cam projections being disposed at any one of a plurality of positions laterally of said wheel teeth accommodating interstices.

4. In a knittingmachine having a frame, a bed in which a multiplicity of latch knitting needles are independently constrained for endwise sliding movement in subtantially parallel paths, said frame and said bed being movable one relatively to the other, and means carried by said frame for defining a yarn feeding station relatively to said knitting needlesin said bed, means for influencing the endwise sliding movement of each knitting needle independently into a selected one of a knit, tuck, or welt position as said knitting needlestraverse said feeding station, said means comprising a plurality of jack elements articulated in an endless chain, guide means on said frame for constraining a portion of said endless chain of jacks into registry each jack with a respective knitting needle in said bed and for directing said portion of said endless chain to move in a path inclined in non-perpendicular relation to the parallel paths of motion of said knitting needles, means driven by direct engagement with said knitting needles upon movement of said frame relatively to said bed for advancing said jack elements in said endless chain along said guide means, each of said jack elements in said endless chain being formed selectively with a high needleengaging cam for raising a registering needle into a knit position, a low needle-engaging cam for raising a register-- ing needle into a tuckposition, or Without a needle engaging cam for permitting a registering needle to traverse said feeding station in the welt position.

'the endwise sliding movement of each knitting needle independently into a selected one of a knit, tuck, or welt position as said knitting needles traverse said feeding station, said means comprising an endless flexible belt, guide means on said frame for constraining a portion of said endless belt in proximity to said knitting needles in said bed and for directing said belt lengthwise in a path inclined and in non-perpendicular relation to the paths of motion of said knitting needles, means driven by direct engagement with said knitting needles upon movement of said frame relatively to said bed for advancing said belt relatively to said guide means with successive transverse segments of said belt in registry with each successive knitting needle in said bed, jack elements formed each with a high needle-engaging cam secured to and superposing selected transverse segments of said belt for raising registering knitting needles in said bed into knit position, jack elements formed each with a low needle-engaging cam secured to and superposing selected transverse segments of said belt for raising registering knitting needles in said bed into tuck position, said jack elements being omitted from selected transverse segments of said belt for influencing needles registering with said segments to traverse said feeding station in the welt position.

6. In a knitting machine having a frame, a bed in which a multiplicity of latch knitting needles are independently constrained for endwise sliding movement, said frame and said bed being movable one relatively to the other and means carried by said frame for defining a yarn feeding station relatively to said knitting needles in said bed, means for influencing the endwise sliding movement of each knitting needle independently into a selected one of a knit, tuck or welt position as said knitting needles traverse said feeding station, said means comprising fixed needle engaging cam means carried by said frame for raising each of said knitting needles into the welt position in advance of said yarn feeding station, and endless flexible belt, guide means on said frame for constraining a portion of said endless belt in proximity to said knitting needles in said bed between said fixed cam means and said yarn feeding station and for directing said belt lengthwise in a path inclined and in non-perpendicular relation to the paths of motion of said knitting needles, means driven by direct engagement with said knitting needles upon movement of said frame relatively to said bed for advancing said belt relatively to said guide means with successive transverse segments of said belt in registry with each successive knitting needle in said bed, jack elements formed each with a high needle engaging cam secured to and superposing selected transverse segments of said belt for raising registering knitting needles in said bed into knit position, jack elements formed each with a low needle engaging cam secured to and superposing selected transverse segments of said belt for raising registering knitting needles in said bed into tuck position, said jack elements being omitted from selected transverse segments of said belt for influencing needles registering with said segments to traverse said feeding station in the welt position.

7. In a knitting machine having a bed formed with a V series of slots, knitting elements individual to said slots and each formed with a butt protruding from said slot, mechanism for effecting a selective setting of said knitting elements each in any one of a plurality of different positions lengthwise of said slots, said mechanism comprising a rotatable toothed element carried for turning movement relatively to said bed and with said teeth in mesh with said knitting element butts, a plurality of jack elements greater in number than the teeth in said rotatable toothed element articulated in an endless chain, said endless chain of jack elements being constrained in mesh with said rotatable toothed elementto be carried thereby into registry each jack element with an individual knitting element in said bed, each jack element being formed with a selected one of a plurality of different configurations foreflecting a selective setting of said knitting 9 elements in a selected one of a plurality of different positions lengthwise of said bed slots.

8. For a knitting machine in which a multiplicity of knitting elements are independently constrained for relative movement, a means for influencing the relative movement of each of said knitting elements independently to pattern the fabric knit thereby, said means including a shiftable patterning member comprising a plurality of individual jack members, means for articulating said individual jack members in an endless chain of substantially uniform width, individual jack members in said chain being formed with a cam surface extending radially outwardly from said chain at any selected one of a plurality of positions widthwise of said chain of jack members.

9. For a knitting machine in which a multiplicity of knitting elements are independently constrained for relative movement, a means for influencing the relative movement of each of said knitting elements independently to pattern the fabric knit thereby, said means including a shiftable patterning member comprising a plurality of individual jack members, an endless flexible carrier belt of substantially uniform width, means for securing said individual jack members in substantially evenly spaced relation along said carrier belt, individual jack members along said belt being formed with a cam surface extending radially outward from said belt at any selected one of a plurality of positions widthwise of said belt.

10. For a knitting machine in which a multiplicity of knitting elements are independently constrained for relative movement, means for influencing the relative movement of each of said knitting elements independently to pattern the fabric knit thereby, said means including a shiftable patterning member comprising an endless flexible belt formed with evenly spaced transverse apertures, rigid knitting element influencing jack elements secured to said belt and disposed along one side thereof between selected adjacent apertures in said belt, cam means formed on selected individual jack elements, and said cam means disposed in any selected one of a plurality of positions transversely of said belt.

11. In a knitting machine having a frame, a bed in which a multiplicity of knitting elements are independently constrained for relative movement, said frame and said bed being movable one relative to the other, and a means for driving said frame relatively to said bed, mechanism for effecting a selective setting of said knitting elements in differing positions relatively to said bed comprising a plurality of jack members articulated in an endless chain, a guide means on said frame for constraining a portion of said endless chain of jack elements in registry each with a respective one of said knitting elements, each jack element being formed with a selected one of a plurality of different configurations for effecting a selective setting of said knitting elements in differing positions relatively to said bed, means for sensing the presence or absence of a portion of said endless chain of jack elements in said guide means, and means responsive to the sensing of the absence of a portion of said endless chain of jack elements in said guide means for interrupting said means for driving said frame relatively to said bed.

12. In a knitting machine having a frame, a bed formed with a series of slots, knitting elements individual to said slots and each formed with a butt protruding from said slot, means for driving said bed and said frame relatively one to the other, mechanism for effecting a selective setting of said knitting elements each in any one of a plurality of different positions lengthwise of said slots, said mechanism comprising a rotatable toothed element carried for turning movement on said frame with said teeth in mesh with said knitting element butts, a plurality of jack elements greater in number than the teeth in said rotatable toothed element articulated in an endless chain, said endless chain of jack elements being constrained in mesh with said rotatable toothed element to be carried thereby into registry each jack element with an individual knitting element in said bed, each jack element being formed with a selected one of a plurality of different configurations for effecting a selective setting of said knitting elements in a selected one of a plurality of different positions lengthwise of said bed slots, means for sensing the meshing relation of said endless chain of jack elements with said rotatable toothed element, and signalling means responsive to the sensing of movement of said endless chain of jack elements out of meshing relation with said rotatable toothed element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,697,489 Ames Ian. 1, 1929 1,765,286 Sander June 17, 1930 1,803,558 Perry May 5, 1931 2,397,939 Barnes Apr. 9, 1946 3,004,417 Lunak Oct. 17, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 430,106 Germany June 11, 1926 244,887 Great Britain Dec. 31, 1925 258,339 Great Britain Sept. 17, 1926 799,965 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1958 

1. IN A KNITTING MACHINE HAVING A FRAME, A BED IN WHICH A MULTIPLICITY OF KNITTING ELEMENTS ARE INDEPENDENTLY CONSTRAINED FOR RELATIVE MOVEMENT, SAID FRAME AND SAID BED BEING MOVABLE ONE RELATIVELY TO THE OTHER, A PATTERNING MECHANISM CARRIED BY SAID FRAME FOR INFLUENCING IN SERIATIM THE RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID KNITTING ELEMENTS, SAID PATTERNING MECHANISM COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF JACK ELEMENTS ARTICULATED IN AN ENDLESS CHAIN, MEANS DRIVEN BY DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID KNITTING ELEMENTS UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID FRAME RELATIVELY TO SAID BED FOR ADVANCING SAID JACK ELEMENTS IN SAID ENDLESS CHAIN EACH INTO REGISTRY WITH A RESPECTIVE KNITTING ELEMENT IN SAID BED, GUIDE MEANS ON SAID FRAME FOR CONSTRAINING THAT PORTION OF SAID ENDLESS CHAIN OF JACK ELEMENTS IN REGISTRY WITH SAID KNITTING ELEMENTS TO MOVE IN A PATH INCLINED TO THE PATH IN WHICH SAID KNITTING ELEMENTS ARE CONSTRAINED TO MOVE, CAM MEANS FORMED ON SELECTED INDIVIDUAL JACK ELEMENTS IN SAID ENDLESS CHAIN OF JACK ELEMENTS, SAID CAM MEANS DISPOSED FOR DIRECT ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RESPECTIVE KNITTING ELEMENTS INTO REGISTRY WITH WHICH SAID SELECTED JACK ELEMENTS ARE ADVANCED, AND EACH CAM MEANS BEING DISPOSED IN ANY SELECTED ONE OF A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS LATERALLY OF SAID PATH OF MOTION OF SAID CHAIN OF JACK ELEMENTS DEFINED BY SAID GUIDE MEANS. 